Facebook-related suspension shines light on school safety policies

NEWPORT BEACH – Newport Harbor High School officials reacted swiftly after seeing an online post on a student's Facebook page last month that implied a violent threat against the school.

Within hours, three police officers showed up at 17-year-old junior David Bejerano's home and found on his Facebook page a drawing depicting Patrick from SpongeBob SquarePants holding a hand-written message: "Kill people. Burn (expletive). (Expletive) school."

Bejerano was immediately suspended for five days, and a school administrator that day urged a transfer to a continuation school, according to his mother, Laura Bejerano.

The only problem? David Bejerano, a special-education student diagnosed with Asperger's-like symptoms, wasn't responsible for the cartoon. A friend used Facebook's "Share" feature to post the image to Bejerano's page, just a week after the Dec. 14 school massacre in Newtown, Conn.

The case – coming at a time when school officials across the nation were on edge and dealing with swirling rumors of violence and threats – has raised tough questions about how schools should balance the rights of individual students against the threat of campus violence.

"It's a horrific accusation that was totally uncalled for and inappropriate," said Laura Bejerano, who works as a special-education student aide at a different school. "My son was blindsided."

David Bejerano said he wasn't even aware of the cartoon until police alerted him to it.

"Maybe 30 years ago, you wouldn't have been as cautious," said Ronald Wenkart, an attorney for the Orange County Department of Education, "but unfortunately in these times, school districts have to be very cautious about threats to schools. It does take a while to sort these things out."

David Bejerano began serving his five-day suspension Monday, the day students returned from winter break.

That same afternoon, Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials met with the Bejeranos and announced the district had wrapped up an investigation and the suspension would be reversed, said district spokeswoman Laura Boss. David Bejerano was retroactively issued an excused absence for Monday.

"The steps that were taken were completely in line with the district's practices and protocols," Boss said. "It's standard practice to implement a suspension when something of this nature occurs."

DISTRICT INVESTIGATION

Laura Bejerano said she believes Newport-Mesa officials only reversed her son's suspension because she contacted district Superintendent Fred Navarro over winter break and forced school officials to reconsider the facts.

About two hours after the image was posted Dec. 20, police were at the Bejeranos' Costa Mesa home demanding that David Bejerano open up his Facebook account, she said.

David Bejerano's Facebook page – a copy of which was printed out by police and reviewed by the Register – shows that the SpongeBob image originated on the Facebook page of a rap group called Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, known for its vulgar lyrics.

The doctored cartoon was "shared" about 375 times, according to the social-networking giant's tally.

During the Dec. 20 visit to the Bejeranos' home, detectives concluded there was "nothing of a criminal nature" stemming from the post and informed the school of those findings, Newport Beach police Lt. John Lewis said.

Even so, Newport Harbor Vice Principal Jack Cusick called Laura Bejerano into his office the same day and issued the five-day suspension. The paperwork accused David Bejerano of having a "possibly threatening drawing" on his Facebook page that "disrupted school activities."

"Student is suspended pending further investigation," the suspension notice said.

Cusick did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Wenkart of the county education department said it is common for school districts to suspend students while they investigate a possible threat.

"I don't know that an apology is necessary afterward, because if there's some information at first indicating there's a threat, that's not the fault of the school district," Wenkart said.

Boss explained that the suspension was issued as school administrators also were dealing with "verbal reports of threats from the student" that had surfaced the day before, on Dec. 19.

"There were other concerns that had been shared that needed to be fully investigated," Boss said.

Laura Bejerano said unsubstantiated rumors had been spreading at the time that suggested her son was planning something sinister. But Laura Bejerano said the rumors originated from other students who regularly tease and pick on her son, and were so unfounded that the school did not even mention them in his suspension notice.

"Rumors shouldn't get him kicked out of school," Laura Bejerano said. "The school is feeding the paranoia – they're trying to point the finger back on David, trying to make it seem like David brought this upon himself."

David Bejerano took a simpler approach to explaining his predicament.

"We do have freedom of speech, do we not?" he said. "I wasn't concerned about getting in trouble for something I knew I didn't post."

NO EASY ANSWERS

Experts who were asked to review this case said the school had a difficult line to walk in responding appropriately.

"There is some stigma that goes with being special needs, that you're more volatile, more impulsive," said Roberto Flores de Apodaca, a psychology professor at Irvine's Concordia University. "We don't know if the school district here acted inappropriately or insensitively or was not well-informed. You can't blame them too much if they erred on the side of being overly cautious."

Laura Bejerano said school officials are intimately familiar with her son's diagnosis and the social challenges that stem from them. David Bejerano meets regularly with Newport Harbor's school psychologist, especially to help diffuse his anger toward students who pick on him, she said. He's also known for wearing a trench coat to school, she added.

"I usually shrug off" being picked on, David Bejerano said. "If they're insulting, I retaliate with words. I use mean words to try to deter them."

The best route that school administrators can take in uncertain situations is to work collaboratively with the parent, said Jim D'Agostino, principal at Orange's Santiago Charter Middle School.

"If I want to have a child removed from a situation, I ask the parent, 'Can you sign your child out?'" said D'Agostino, a former special-education teacher who is writing his doctoral dissertation on parent satisfaction with special-education services. "That's in the best interest of the student and the school."

Laura Bejerano said she would have voluntarily kept her son at home if asked. Indeed, she had pulled him out of school early Dec. 19 after the rumors surfaced about her son, and voluntarily kept him home the next day as well, she said.

Laura Bejerano said she believes the school was trying to force her son to leave Newport Harbor for good.

David Bejerano has received four suspensions since he enrolled at Newport Harbor three years ago, which means his fifth suspension automatically would have triggered a special-education meeting to discuss transferring him to an alternative school, Laura Bejerano said.

David Bejerano said he has a circle of friends at Newport Harbor and is trying hard to avoid altercations with his peers. Except for the Facebook flap, he hasn't received any suspensions this year, his mother said.

Newport Beach clinical psychologist Kate Mack said the school could have done a better job handling the matter. Special-needs students deserve extra consideration, specifically because of their disabilities, Mack said.

"Kids with special needs fall through the cracks with these issues all the time, simply because a school is following a set of rules without taking into consideration the special-needs student's rights to be treated differently," said Mack, who specializes in treating children and adolescents. "He deserved a lot more support than what he got."

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